The Marines could not hunt down Doflamingo while he remained one of the Dragon People. His status as a Shichibukai merely made things more convenient for him. Even branded a member of the "traitor clan," Doflamingo was still one of the Dragon People!
Before you beat a dog, you had to consider its master!
The Celestial Dragons were entitled to reject him. But if you lowly commoners dared lay a hand on one of the Dragon People, that was another matter entirely.
Still, royal privilege or not, fists were what ultimately did the talking in this world!
The situation had been too urgent for argument, and anger had robbed everyone of reason. The killing intent in Sengoku's words and the hard line Garp had taken said it all!
So, a year ago, Doflamingo had traded records held exclusively by the Donquixote Family within the Dragon People, along with substantial benefits, for Garp's promise to back off.
He had also secured a promise that if Loa attacked him, the Marines would do everything they could to stop Loa.
That said, Doflamingo did not believe the Marines would truly make an enemy of Loa over a promise they could not acknowledge publicly. Even if the two came to blows, the Marines would probably do no more than intervene for show.
But that was enough!
The Marines were not Doflamingo's only path to survival. With his status as one of the Dragon People and his identity as "Joker" to fall back on, he had plenty of options.
A year earlier, when they discussed what would happen if Loa did not attack him openly but caused trouble behind the scenes, Garp had thumped his chest and promised without a care.
"As long as you're still a Shichibukai, we won't let him run wild. Don't